The results of biplanar distal femoral osteotomy; a case series study

Background: Distal femur wedge osteotomies for varus or valgus alignment of the lower extremity could be done in either uniplanar or biplanar fashion. Union time and stability of the osteotomy site has been considered important in this anatomic region. In this study, clinical and radiographic findings of biplane distal femur osteotomy were reported. Methods: Clinical, functional, and radiological findings of eight patients (10 knees) underwent biplane distal femur osteotomy were evaluated. Visual analogue score (VAS) and Lysholm-Tegner knee score were used for the assessment of pain and function before and three months after surgery. Results: In this study, eight patients were included. All patients were female. The mean age was 28±6.3. The mean pre-operative mechanical angle was 8.7±2.2° and the post-operative angle was 1.4±0.53° in patients with valgus alignment whileit was 7.0±1.0°preoperatively and 0.66±1.2° postoperatively in patients with varus alignment. The mean lateral distal femoral angle (LDFA) was 85±8.0° before surgery and was 88±1.3° after surgery. According to Lysholm-Tegner knee score, in the post-operative visit, six knees were good and four were excellent. The mean union time was 9.2±2.3 weeks. Conclusions: Biplane distal femur osteotomy is a reliable technique that creates larger surfaces and more stability at the osteotomy site with further rapid union. © 2015 BY THE ARCHIVES OF BONE AND JOINT SURGERY

Microneedles for painless transdermal immunotherapeutic applications

Immunotherapy has recently garnered plenty of attention to improve the clinical outcomes in the treatment of various diseases. However, owing to the dynamic nature of the immune system, this approach has often been challenged by concerns regarding the lack of adequate long-term responses in patients. The development of microneedles (MNs) has resulted in the improvement and expansion of immuno-reprogramming strategies due to the housing of high accumulation of dendritic cells, macrophages, lymphocytes, and mast cells in the dermis layer of the skin. In addition, MNs possess many outstanding properties, such as the ability for the painless traverse of the stratum corneum, minimal invasiveness, facile fabrication, excellent biocompatibility, convenient administration, and bypassing the first pass metabolism that allows direct translocation of therapeutics into the systematic circulation. These advantages make MNs excellent candidates for the delivery of immunological biomolecules to the dermal antigen-presenting cells in the skin with the aim of vaccinating or treating different diseases, such as cancer and autoimmune disorders, with minimal invasiveness and side effects. This review discusses the recent advances in engineered MNs and tackles limitations relevant to traditional immunotherapy of various hard-to-treat diseases. © 2020 Elsevier B.V

Chronic administration of methylphenidate did not affect memory and GDNF levels but increase astrogliosis in adult male rat's hippocampus

Background: ADHD is the most common developmental disorder affecting approximately three to seven percent of school-aged children and 2.5 percent of adults worldwide. The drug of choice for the pharmacotherapy of ADHD is Methylphenidate (MPH). However, there is growing concerns about side effects resulting from its potential interference with brain anatomical and behavioral development. Aim: This article focuses on the adverse effects of MPH on the rat's hippocampus. Methods: The animals received an oral dose of 5 mg/kg MPH or normal saline, as the vehicle, on a daily basis for 30 days. Y-maze test, passive avoidance, Barnes maze and field potential recording were conducted. Western blot for detecting the neurotrophic factor of GDNF and immunohistochemistry of astrogliosis were performed. Results: Our results revealed that MPH treatment suppressed the willingness of rats to explore new environments. Also, it had no effect on improving long-term potentiation, long-term memory and spatial memory in the MPH group as opposed to the control group. There was also a significant increase of astrogliosis in the treated rats� hippocampi. On the other hand, there was not a significant relationship between MPH administration and the decrement of the GDNF level. Conclusion: We encourage the need to conduct more research on the adverse effects of MPH on the brain. © 2020 Elsevier B.V